Image:  from Hoops Manifesto blog

Reading the words of Isaiah incorporated into the liturgy for today, listen to the words of Yahweh.  He is speaking not solely to Hezekiah.  He is speaking to all who would hear or read Isaiah's words to Hezekiah (38:5):  "I will heal you ..."  How often the prophets conveyed God's care for his people.

If anyone wondered how God has "spoke" to his people, a journey through the prophetic writings would provide an answer.  From the words of Isaiah through 17 other prophetic books, ending with Malachi (how many of the other 16 books can you recall?) we encounter God speaking to us today as well.

The Prophet was an office granted by a direct invitation from God.  It was not the product of one's heredity.  Likewise it was not a "lifetime appointment."  We can say a prophet is the product of God's will.  The primary reasons for prophetic teachings and revelations are the interests of God.  These directives and exhortations were aimed at the "chosen people," the Jewish people.  And "Why?" you might ask.  The answer is not complicated.  It was from the Jewish people that there was to be born the Son of God.

It is most likely that few Christians realize this purpose in the prophetic life.  Few likewise would consider the thrust of Yahweh's words to the chosen people as messages also meant for contemporary folks.  Do we not, through the lives we live, provide a rebirth to the Son of God?  Are not are baptismal promises a reminder that our lives are to mirror the how the Father wants the followers of his Son to live?

We are called upon to weigh the words of Isaiah and all the prophets.  In these writings we can learn that in the Sacred Scriptures the truth of what will come to be in many generations ... the truth that is the will of God.  A journey through the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament would provide an opportunity to "hear" God speaking to us today.  In these words we can learn more clearly God's love and care for all of us as well as how sinfulness angered God.